Semiconductor device, thin film transistor having an active crystal layer formed by a line containing a catalyst element

1. A semiconductor device, comprising: a substrate; a line formed on said substrate; and a crystalline semiconductor film containing silicon in contact with said line, wherein: said line electrically connects said crystalline semiconductor film to a location outside of said semiconductor device, and said line contains an element which functions as a catalyst for crystallizing said crystalline semiconductor film on annealing.

2. A semiconductor device according to claim 1, further comprising an insulating film formed on said line, wherein said crystalline semiconductor film is in contact with said line through a contact hole formed in said insulating film.

3. A semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein said line is formed of a single layer film or of a multi-layer film made of a constituting material containing at least one material selected from the group consisting of nickel, iron, cobalt and platinum.

4. A thin film transistor, comprising: a substrate; a line formed on said substrate; a crystalline semiconductor film containing silicon in contact with said line; a gate insulating film formed on said crystalline semiconductor film; and a gate electrode formed on said gate insulating film, wherein said line electrically connects said crystalline semiconductor film to a location outside of said semiconductor device, and said line contains an element which functions as a catalyst for crystallizing said crystalline semiconductor film on annealing.

5. A thin film transistor according to claim 4, further comprising an insulating film formed on said line, wherein said crystalline semiconductor film is in contact with said line through a contact hole formed in said insulating film.

6. A thin film transistor according to claim 4, wherein: said crystalline semiconductor film includes a source region and a drain region; and said source region and said drain region are selectively doped with a group III element or a group V element as an impurity.

7. A thin film transistor according to claim 6, wherein said impurity is doped self-aligningly with said gate electrode being used as a mask.

8. A thin film transistor according to claim 4, further comprising a shielding film formed on said substrate in the same step as for said line.

9. A thin film transistor according to claim 4, wherein said line is formed of a single layer film or of a multi-layer film made of a constituting material containing at least one material selected from the group consisting of nickel, iron, cobalt and platinum.

10. A liquid crystal display apparatus, comprising at least one thin film transistor according to claim 4.